Breakfast Negotiations
by SunnyRea
Summary: Harold touches the handle of his tea cup, moving it gently from side to side. Then he ticks his eyes up to Harper. "Your ring?" She nods with an eyebrow raise. "Your watch." -Harper Rose comes to see Harold to get back her ring-
Harper sits down with a thump across from Harold in his booth beside the window. She folds her hands on the table, leaning forward slightly. "Okay, I guess we both made our point."

Harold raises his eyebrows at her as he picks the teabag from his cup up by the paper tab and loops it around his spoon, pressing out just a touch of the liquid in the bag. He puts the spoon with the teabag squished against it on to the table. "A pleasure to see you Ms. Rose, which point are you referring to exactly?"

She gives him an incredulous look. "You going to play dumb?" She pauses and raises her eyebrows right back at him. "You?"

Harold smiles. "I am not playing anything, Ms. Rose, but since our last meeting was at least two months ago I may need a refresher."

"I don't think you do."

Harold takes a sip of his tea. "Or you could just tell me why you decided to join me for breakfast?"

"How about this then; I give you mine if you give me yours?"

Harold puts his tea cup down. "What makes you think I have something of yours?"

Harper leans back against the booth seat and crosses her arms. "I didn't take you for the type to play games or does this go back to your control issues?"

Harold chuckles once. "I have to say I am surprised, Ms. Rose. I expected you to attempt to steal it back instead of just sliding up to my table some day at breakfast."

Harper shrugs and sits up straight again. "I like the direct approach."

Harold snorts. "Not usually. You are the one that plays games and dons parts."

"Yeah, I'm the con artist. Thank you. But I'm not the only one playing parts what with you and your… partner." Harper leans on the word partner and smirks.

Harold tilts his head in affirmation of her point. He picks up his teacup again to take another sip while Harper watches him.

The waitress appears and places a plate with poached eggs down in front of Harold. She looks at Harper. "Can I get you something?"

"Sure," Harper says, "coffee, steak and eggs, a mimosa, a side of hash browns, a side of sausage and a side of bacon."

The woman blinks a little in surprise but nods and writes the order down quickly before she walks away again with a 'coming right up' out of the corner of her mouth.

Harold purses his lips as he puts the teacup down. "A mimosa?"

"You can enjoy it all when it comes. I won't be staying long enough." She cocks her head. "Are we done with the pleasantries yet, Harold?"

Harold touches the handle of his tea cup, moving it gently from side to side. Then he ticks his eyes up to Harper. "Your ring?"

She nods with an eyebrow raise. "Your watch."

"I wonder that you took the trouble to come get it when it is, as you put it, 'just a piece of tin.'"

"Trying to analyze me, Harold?"

"My watch is, monetarily speaking, worth more," Harold says plainly. "But I imagine that is not always the point, is it Ms. Rose?"

"You know, that whole 'Ms. Rose' is getting old."

"It is the name you chose."

"I'm not a flower," Harper says, ignoring his comment. "You can call me Harper."

"As though it were your real name."

She smiles. "Take a stab at finding out the real one then; should be fun."

"Oh." Harold finally picks up his fork to address the eggs in front of him, slicing through one top so the yoke runs. "I have, Ms. Rose."

Harper's lip twitches slightly at the name but she does not attempt to push the use of 'Harper' again. "So?"

Harold puts down his fork again without taking a bite of his eggs then reaches into his waistcoat pocket and pulls out the ring. "Yours?"

Harper reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out Harold's watch. "Yours."

Harold narrows his eyes at her. "No, it isn't."

Harper's expression breaks into a wide smile. "Oops." She smirks and puts the errant watch back into her pocket. "Wrong pocket." She reaches into her opposite side coat pocket and pulls out a seemingly identical watch. "That's better."

"Yes."

"All right then." Harper holds the watch out over the middle of the table then holds out her other hand palm up beside it. "Care for a trade here, Harold?"

Harold reaches out and grips the band of the watch. When he places the ring in Harper's hand she lets go of the watch. She slips the ring back onto the middle finger of her right hand and nods at Harold.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Harold." Then she begins to slide out of the booth.

"I wanted to thank you for the assistance you rendered to Mr. Reese and Ms. Wells in our recent…" Harold pauses as he turns the watch around once in his hand, his left hand folding protectively around it. "Clandestine activity."

Harper huffs, still turned part way out of the booth. "Activity is the word you pick?" She shakes her head and gives him an unamused look. "It was just a job."

"I'm sure," Harold replies with a smile that is mostly serious. Before Harper can stand up from the booth, Harold speaks again. "And has Ernest Thornhill given you any more jobs?"

At that, she turns back around and slides into place across from him. "Why?" She shrugs. "You know her?" Harold face twitches making Harper smile. "Oh, I can appreciate the need for an alias. Not what I would have picked but it works."

"We know what you would pick."

"Like you can talk."

Harold finally takes a bite of his eggs, replying after he swallows. "Harold is my real name."

"And so is Finch, I bet."

"Is that a 'no' or a 'yes' to my question, Ms. Rose?"

Harper shrugs again. "I like to keep my business to myself."

"Unless you happen to run into us?"

"Guess New York is smaller than you think."

Harold chuckles. "Or certain circles, perhaps."

"I think you and John run in your own circle. Saving people even if they don't ask you to or straight out tell you not to?" She gives him a look that says, _remember me?_ "Often to the tune of a suitcase full of cash?" She gives him an incredulous look. "You're not cops but, what, the vigilante justice of New York City? Are you Daredevil?"

Harold frowns. "I don't watch TV very often."

"You should. It's good. Plus Charlie Cox looks pretty fine in it." She smirks. "Bit young for you though I'd bet. But, hey, I'm not judging." She points at him. "Plus, there's the handicap angle; might be something you'd appreciate for the representation or some high minded thing."

"Why did you want the ring back?" Harold asks, flipping the subject around. He picks up the pepper shaker and shakes it twice over his eggs. "The diamond is real so you could have pawned it for the money but if that was all why not pawn my watch instead? Obviously you have a reason to keep it and I doubt it is just a trophy."

"How would you know, Harold? You don't know me. You don't even know my name."

"Don't I?" Harold scoops some poached egg onto his fork and takes a bite.

She watches him for a moment as she turns the ring around on her finger. "I think you wouldn't be asking me about the ring if you thought you knew everything about me."

Harold puts his fork down and picks up his tea. He smiles as he takes a sip. "I suppose we are both perceptive."

"Or we both know how to spin a lie."

Harold looks at her, takes another sip of his tea but says nothing. Harper stares back at him, drumming her fingers on the table. She starts to smile slowly, hand stilling, then sits up in her seat.

"All right." She put her elbow on the table and holds up the back of her hand so the ring faces Harold. She gestures between them. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

"My watch?"

"No, your glasses, Harold."

Harold frowns and taps his fork on the plate. "It's an Omega."

She rolls her eyes. "I noticed." Then she shakes her head. "You're not even trying with your 'play dumb' routine here, are you?"

"I have nothing to tell you, Ms. Rose. It is a watch."

She shakes her head. "Who is Nathan?"

Harold sits very still, hand on his teacup, and says nothing.

Harper smiles. "Inside of the watch said, 'For the ghost in the machine - Nathan.' You really think I wouldn't look? Are you the ghost, Harold?"

Harold makes a 'hmm' noise. "Maybe."

"Who is Nathan then? Old boyfriend?"

"Nathan was a friend," Harold says. He uncurls his hand from around the watch which he has been holding this whole time. He looks down into his hand at the watch then abruptly slips it into his waistcoat pocket where the ring had been. "A good friend."

"If the watch was important to you," Harper says slowly, her expression genuinely curious, "why didn't you come after me?"

"I do not need things to remember people important to me," Harold says pointedly. Then he picks up his teacup and gestures with it toward her hand. "Also, I had collateral." He takes another sip, finishing the cup and puts it back down. "So, what is the story of your ring?"

Harper scoffs. "No, uh uh. This was a give and take negotiation." She puts her hand down on the table. "You give me 'he was a friend' and I'm expected to give you a story? Don't think so."

"I'm not going to tell you more, Ms. Rose. I'm a very private person."

She laughs. "Oh yeah, hadn't noticed." She flutters her finger tips on the table once then purses her lips. "Okay, well you gave me one thing so I'll give you one; I did get the ring on a job." She cocks her head. "That's just not the whole story."

Harold chuckeles once. "Fair enough, Ms. Rose."

Just then, the waitress and a busboy appear with Harper's order. Harper smirks at Harold as the woman puts down the plate of steak and eggs. The busboy passes her the side of bacon, hash browns, and sausage, the plates arranged in front of Harper in a semi-circle. Lastly the waitress puts down the coffee mug and mimosa. "Anything else?"

Harper shakes her head. "Nope, that's perfect."

"Thank you," Harold mutters as the waitress and busboy walk away.

Harper picks up one piece of bacon and munches on it. "Are you going to call me 'Ms. Rose' forever?"

"Until you give me another name you prefer."

"But not Harper?"

"We all have our ways." Harold picks up his tea cup then puts it down again when he sees it is empty.

"Fine." She drops the half eaten piece of bacon back on the plate. "Might need to work harder on avoiding you and John then. Not sure I like the name so much anymore." She slides out of the booth and stands up beside the table.

"Enjoy your ring, Ms. Rose."

"I will." She grins. "Enjoy your watch and tell that Nathan he has good taste." She smiles, then turns and walks away from the table.

Harold smiles at her back for a moment before his expression slowly falls. "He did, Ms. Rose."


End file.
